It's not just the Mendoza Line average that's forcing the team's hand. It's his withdrawal from the team, when he was brought in to be a character guy.

Last week, when some members of the press corps asked manager Don Wakamatsu why he hadn't used Griffey as a pinch hitter for Rob Johnson late in a game, Waskamatsu was vague.

Two Mariners players, however, weren't. Both are younger players, fond of Griffey. Neither had an ax to grind.

So why didn't Wakamatsu go to Junior off the bench.

"He was asleep in the clubhouse," one player said. "He'd gone back about the fifth inning to get a jacket and didn't come back. I went back in about the seventh inning – and he was in his chair, sound asleep."

Then there's Keith Hernandez, who's having trouble staying up for the Mets' string of extra-inning games. But, c'mon, let's cut him a break. He's 56, probably two scotch and waters deep, and it's no fun waiting for yet another walkoff homer from a light-hitting catcher.